Just re-watched the game....Noticed a few things....

1) Crabtree lost some weight. Dunno if it was unintentional or he got himself in really good shape, but he looks skinnier. He is also still blocking hard downfield. On VDs first reception he BLEW UP Earl Thomas. He also seamed a little faster running his routes before he got hurt.

2) Speaking of Earl Thomas, that guy is going to be a thorn in the 49ers side for a LONG time. It seems like everytime it was third down that guy was making the play preventing us from getting it. He's a good one and needs to be accounted for.

3) On second viewing, Alex played better than I thought. I was a bit frustrated with the playcalling, but he did what he was asked and made some really good throws. Three of them were to VD, but the last one should have been a penalty. VD did hold up as not to get hit, but he was also held. I dunno if he figured there would be a flag so why get blasted, but to be honest I'd rather he NOT catch that because he's been hurt on those kinds of plays before.

4) I'm not saying that Frank has lost it, but his play concerned me. Seattle stacked the run alot and it's not like he had clean lanes to run through, but it just seemed he didn't have that little extra he usually has to get the extra yard that results in a first down or TD. It could have just been a bad game, he may not have his legs yet, or it could have been great play by Seattle....but it was enough to be concerned about.

5) Aldon Smith is a freak of nature. He didn't have a great game and wasn't dominant, but he made a few plays that no other human being could. First, on a play where the Tackle was trying to cut him...he put BOTH hands on the ground and sprung righ back to his feat. It was almost like he was a four legged animal and his arms and legs were the same length. He didn't make the play, but I had to watch it 2 or 3 times to see if I was actually seeing what I was seeing. In the second half he was cut again, easily avoided it and got the longest arms I've ever seen up in the air and on the ball. This guy is young and raw and has a long of ways to go....but he needs to join the X-Men because the guy is a freakin' mutant.

6) Scheme: When I watched the game the first time, I suspected that the Adam Snyder shift penalty was intentional. Now I'm sure of it. It was 4th and one and that shift gave the 49ers a first down. The gameplan was kinda vanilla, but there were little moments here and there where we got a glimpse of what we have to look forward to. The fake one way and then run behind Alex play. Nice. I honestly think that Harbaugh and Roman didn't feel the need to open the bag for this game and only used what they had to to get the W. When Seattle got within 2, I think they would have opened it a bit....but Teddy Ginn sealed the game for them.

7) Ted Ginn: Wow. He took 2 back, but he almost broke 2 more. I dubnno if there is something different about him this year, if Seely is just a better coach, or if the game was just a fluke....but he was ON on Sunday. He took some chances and lost some yards a few times (all really good returners do), but that guy was better than I've ever seen him.

8) Edwards is gonna be huge this year. He was held. Alot. We are gonna see many jump balls for him and he's gonna move the sticks.

9) Ray McDonald. Wow. Dominant. Only 1 sack on the sheet but disruptive the entire day

Great analysis. I didn't rewatch the game yet but looking at this and reflecting back on the game, you seem to be spot on.

I have no concerns about Frank. He didn't have much room as you mentioned, and it is most likely a matter of just getting his "game legs" into gear.

Ray McDonald should have been a starter for this team two years ago. Started a thread about this in the offseason before we resigned him and I'm so thankful we did. This guy has always played like a monster.

Smith played well. The only thing that stood out to me was missing Crabs wide-open in the endzone. He's still got to learn to go through progressions and look at 2nd, 3rd, 4th options when his primary isn't there or when a play breaks down.

Overall, this game was amazing. We cut it too close at the end but that's usually when we find a way to lose the game. Last Sunday, we found a way to win. We haven't done that in quite a while.

3) On second viewing, Alex played better than I thought. I was a bit frustrated with the playcalling, but he did what he was asked and made some really good throws. Three of them were to VD, but the last one should have been a penalty. VD did hold up as not to get hit, but he was also held. I dunno if he figured there would be a flag so why get blasted, but to be honest I'd rather he NOT catch that because he's been hurt on those kinds of plays before.

5) Aldon Smith is a freak of nature. He didn't have a great game and wasn't dominant, but he made a few plays that no other human being could. First, on a play where the Tackle was trying to cut him...he put BOTH hands on the ground and sprung righ back to his feat. It was almost like he was a four legged animal and his arms and legs were the same length. He didn't make the play, but I had to watch it 2 or 3 times to see if I was actually seeing what I was seeing. In the second half he was cut again, easily avoided it and got the longest arms I've ever seen up in the air and on the ball. This guy is young and raw and has a long of ways to go....but he needs to join the X-Men because the guy is a freakin' mutant.

9) Ray McDonald. Wow. Dominant. Only 1 sack on the sheet but disruptive the entire day

Nice analysis. The three above are what really stood out to me, too.

I wish that everyone bashing Smith for THIS GAME would take 15 minutes and watch the highlights. I think they would see that their subjective perception was not borne out by his play....THIS WEEK only.

basically, Seattle's main objective was to stop gore. Seattle's not so secret weapon, Earl Thomas.

I dunno if that answers all of my questions, but it was Thomas on a number of those plays that was making the stop. I noted his play as well. So the real question...Is Thomas that good or has Frank lost a step? Or is it a little of both? Or was it just a bad game? Who knows....but its worth keeping an eye on.

I think that the lockout must have had an effect on special teams play as well. In preseason there tends to be a lot of big returns because the special teams guys haven't been set yet, and I think the shortened offseason is doing something similar. Ginn seemed to have a lot of space on both kickoffs and punt returns

Some thing I noticed after watching the game again... was the foot work of Alex Smith. COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! More so while in the pocket and going through his progressions. Last year and the years past he would take his drop... and then it looked as his feet were planted as he looked at his options... In this game... He would take the drop back... stand in the pocket... and pitty patter his feet...

This movement I believe reduces the time it takes him to get the ball out after making his decision on where to throw the rock. +1 Jim Harbaugh.

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